U.S., China compete over claims in South China Sea

BEIJING – China issued strong words but took no immediate military action after the United States sent a guided-missile destroyer through waters Beijing claims in the South China Sea.

China’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said that Chinese ships followed and warned the USS Lassen as it maneuvered within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef, one area where China has been building an artificial island capable of serving as a military airstrip.

The Obama administration has accused China of threatening freedom of navigation by constructing artificial islands and restricting vessels from coming within 12 nautical miles of them. But China continues to insist it has “indisputable sovereignty” over more than 80 percent of the South China Sea, and it hinted Tuesday that any further U.S. incursions would trigger a more muscular response.

“If relevant parties insist on creating tensions in the region and making trouble out of nothing, it may force China to draw the conclusion that we need to strengthen and hasten the buildup of our capabilities,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a news conference Tuesday. “I would advise the United States not to create such a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

While China says the United States is being provocative by sending a warship into disputed waters, several Asian countries, including U.S. allies, see China as the ultimate source of conflict. Over the last two years, China has embarked on an island construction spree in the South China Sea, home to shipping lanes where trillions of dollars in trade is transported annually.

Several countries, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Japan, have condemned China’s “Great Wall of Sand” and encouraged Obama to challenge Beijing’s claims and construction activities.

Obama now has done so, sending the USS Lassen – a guided-missile destroyer – close to Subi Reef late Monday. The operation lasted a few hours, apparently without incident. Although China said its ships followed the U.S. warship and warned it to stay away, it was not immediately clear how many Chinese ships tracked the USS Lassen, or how closely they maneuvered.